Material and Ideational Relations Between Humanity and Its Environment

William Cronon’s work on environmental philosophy The Trouble with Wilderness is most perceptive work ever produced. It has thoughtful impacts for everyone who revolves around the discussion of the environment.

William Cronan argues that Bill McKibben's view of nature and wilderness are flawed. In The End of Nature, Bill McKibben writes about the environmental problems plaguing the Earth today. In his view, humans today are controlling the atmosphere around them more than ever before. Our ancestors used to live in an environment which they could easily predict. Seasons came at the right time, winters were cold and summers were hot. Now, because of global warming, that predictability has all but disappeared. The climate has become erratic and violent. It is this point that Bill McKibben tries to get across; the idea that the nature we perceive in our minds will be gone forever. Nowhere does McKibben imply that humans should be considered to be separate from nature. In fact, most of the time, McKibben's arguments seem similar to that of William Cronan's. They both agree, for example, that we are currently changing the earth more than ever before and that we are losing the tenuous understanding that we had of the earth. They agree that we must take action, for the Earth

In Wallace Stegner’s “Wilderness Letter,” he is arguing that the countries wilderness and forests need to be saved. For a person to become whole, Stegner argues that the mere idea of the wild and the forests are to thank. The wilderness needs to be saved for the sake of the idea. He insinuates that anyone in America can just think of Old faithful, Mt. Rainier, or any other spectacular landform, even if they have not visited there, and brought to a calm. These thoughts he argues are what makes us as people whole.

According to William Cronon’s “The Trouble with Wilderness”, the main concerns with the wilderness term being humanly constructed and lack of concern with the local environments. Cronon emphasize much of the historical and philological meanings of wilderness as a human construct via spiritual and religious perspectives. He desired for people stop putting so much emphasis on the above and beyond that is out of our reach and focus on the present. He pushed this into the idea of one should start putting emphasis and care into one’s own environment rather than just focusing on environments beyond the local one. He believes change should start locally.

Calvinists also believed that “men were directed to transform the earth according to the divine will of God” (Champagne 1992:15); therefore, men were given complete freedom for environmental domination in order to transform this world that is full of flaws and sins and to appease God. From this perspective, nature is an object to be struggled against and overcome. Furthermore, Christianity, more specifically Calvinist belief, teaches the radical dualism of sacred and profane. From this perspective, this world characterized by sins, flaws, and suffering is profane, drawing comparison a comparison to the sacred afterworld. Native Americans, on the other hand, had less tension in this dichotomous relationship between this-worldliness and otherworldliness. Most Native cultures believed that their institutional and cultural elements, such as ceremonies, kinship, villages, and clans were given as gifts by the “Great Spirit”-- a benevolent and ubiquitous life force of the world. The Great Spirit communicates with humans through intermediaries that reside in nature, which makes Native Americans to live harmoniously with the earth. Everything on earth is considered a spiritual being that needs to be respected to keep the world in balance.

With the Pope’s latest publication there has been an increase in media coverage and interest with Christianity and environmentalism, but this is far from the first time these two subjects have crossed paths.When it comes to looking for examples of earlier “eco-theologists” several can be found in the american writing movement known as transcendentalism. This was an example of environmentalists and Christianity clashing. The transcendentalists were one of the earliest groups of environmentalists in the united states. The philosophical movement often challenged the teachings of the church and lead many to question Christianity. The leader of this movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson, went to school to become a preacher but ended up dismissing the Church

Martin’s (1996) continuum is a useful tool which can be used to position an individual’s perspective of nature on a scale from one, seeing nature as an object, to five, seeing nature as a subject. At the low end of the scale, Martin describes a human-nature relationship where nature purely acts as a playground or gym for humans (Martin, 1996). This relationship type can be associated with anything where humans have a vantage point (Dyer & Gunnell, 1993), and can be seen within Christianity. The second lowest relationship outlined on the continuum is where humans begin to see nature as a beautiful and natural place. This view point of nature can primarily be connected to people viewing national parks as valuable storehouses and museums (Martin, 1996). From this stage of Martin’s (1996) continuum, it becomes identifiable that from this point onward, humans gain more respect, appreciation

In the article “On Care for Our Common Home”, the author addressed a crucial notion—climate is a common good. God provides humans good living environment, but commercial activities change our values and thoughts. The social value became established on the consumption behavior. God offers humans’ unique ability which is different from other species on our planet. Human’s natural instincts and spirits are kind and simple, but the society, activities, sexuality, the family, and social relations generate culture and civilization. With the progress, nature and culture seem hard to find the balance. Human should wield their power as well as with humble conviction to change the reality of the world. The author mentioned the issues of water and global

In his essay, The Trouble with Wilderness, William Cronon discusses the importance of preserving wilderness. Nature has been deteriorating since the introduction of the human species, and Cronon attributes this issue to the destructive nature of humans. The essay begins with his thesis “the time has come to rethink wilderness” (Cronon 1). He challenges the reader to find the difference between wilderness and wildness. Cronon’s biggest fear is violating the holiness of nature.

Christian voice is correcting them or proclaiming the biblical model of man’s relationship to nature which: is unique and superior to the dominant free-market and environmentalist models. . According to Gardner and Stern (1996), in that place are exclusive approaches that have power to be implemented in companionships search to defend the environment. One like approach may take a closer look at holy and regarding duties beliefs and the effects of these beliefs on the environment. The idea to create values and beliefs in environmental issues are important components of having a safer and enjoyable world for its people and the world they live in. Christian and non-Christian, at hand, must see the environment and the shortcoming of business by reason of a proper conversion to an act or purpose of and preservation of the wealth the planet has to support life. Christians as the Bible originate directing the eye to what has to be published by word force in reference to human natures dependence and bounden duty to the nature and its resources. As Christians we should do what ever it takes to make sure this earth glorify God. If we are careless about science and economics — not caring about how they work and what they describe, creation’s economy will suffer (Christians Research Institute).

McFague poses the question “Is the environment a religious issue?” Many Americans believe that our deteriorating planet can be solved by science and new technology. It isn’t that simple. The environmental crisis involves all people with all areas or expertise and religions. It is about applying “household rules” to keep the planet flourishing: take only your share, clean up after yourself, and keep the house in good repair for those to come. There are two worldviews, neoclassical economics and ecological economics. McFague presents reasons why ecological economics is more beneficial to flourishing the planet. Neoclassical economics sees humans on the planet as individuals drawn together to fully make use of natural resources. Ecological economics sees the planet as a community that survives only through the interdependence of all its parts, human and nonhuman. Ecological economics concerns the health of the whole planet. This view helps us to picture ourselves not as isolated individuals but as housemates. McFague response to the environmental crisis is in four steps. First, we should become conscious of neoclassical economics as a model of how to allocate scarce resources. Second, we need to suggest some visions of the good life that are not consumer-dominated, visions that are just and stainable. Third, we need to publicly advocate the ecological model as the more just and sustainable one for our society. Lastly, we should rethink what the ecological economic context would mean for the basic doctrines of Christianity. The planet will flourish with this ecological

In the Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis, Lynn White argues that western Christianity is guilty and responsible for the current environmental crisis. He writes that Christianity gave human a reason to be a master over other living creatures and “nature objects”. I agree with White’s opinion that Christianity affected the nature negatively, but I expect no responsibilities for Christians. In this paper, I will write about why I support White’s idea, but not fully.

Nearly everything that a human does is in response to the environment. Our lives are defined by what is around us and what we find in front of us, whether this means accepting, dealing with or changing it. This has been the pattern since primates first stood up and became Homo erectus, and has continued until we considered ourselves doubly wise. The shape of the land affected where humans moved. Weather was something with which to contend. Fire affected humans until they conquered it – and herein lies the core of the relationship. The earth affects humans, and humans affect it back, viewing characteristics and patterns as problems and challenges, and finding a solution.

A photograph of Earth reveals a great deal, but it does not convey the complexity of our environment. Our environment (a term that comes from the French environner, “to surround”) is more than water, land, and air; it is the sum total of our surroundings. It includes all of the biotic factors, or living things, with which we interact. It also includes the abiotic factors, or nonliving things, with which we interact. Our environment includes the continents, oceans, clouds, and ice caps you can see in the photo of Earth from space, as well as the animals, plants, forests, and farms that comprise the landscapes around us. In a more inclusive sense, it also encompasses our built

However, he did not spend the time among nature for the notoriety, but merely because he felt at one with nature. As Muir lived among nature, he understood, through a religious scope, that all of nature, even the smallest of species, was part of God’s plan. As such, every species deserved respect. Even when he nearly died from malaria, from a nature induced illness, Muir was steadfast in his belief that humans and nature were on an equal footing, and it was mankind’s responsibility to protect nature.